Floating mine.



A. LERNE'I.,

FLOATING MINE.

APPLIUATION :11.211 M128, 1912.

Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

ZSHBETS-SEEET 1 7e as ecs all 2 A. LER-NET.

l FLOATING MINE.

APPLIUATION FILED MAB.. 28, 1912. 1,042,574. Patented Get. 297 s,

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

LEMIDEB, LERNET, GE VIE'e, ASTRA-IHUNGRY.

sri-:inertie nenn.

Application filed ierch $28, 19M).

Specieetion of Letters Eatent.

iDat-ented @et iil.

Serial Nd 886,734.

To al! @from -z' may concern 'Be it known that l, Amstelveen Lenser, a subject of the Emperor of Austria-Hungary, and resident of 9 Kamerling' Platz, ci y of Vienna, Empire of ustria-Hnngary, have invented certain new and iiseful improvements in Floating Mines, ot" which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to tica ting explosive iines for tidal Waters and rivers or". the type in which the ignition of the explosive charge is effected hy means of percussion mechanism, and the present invention has for its object to render the percussive igniting mechanism inoperative, -when required, and thus preventunintentional ignition.

A further objectA of the invention is to facilitate the raising o/the' mine, this being eected simultaneously with the tlirowing out oic gear of 'the ignition mechanism, the arrangement being such that, when the mine rises to the surface, evidence is aiorded of the fact that the ignition mechanism has ,been rendered inoperative;

ln order that the. invention may he clearly understood, reference is made'to the accompanying drawings, whereon I have shown my invention as applied to a floatinflr mine of tlie'type. described in the specifica-tion or my prior nited States Patent No.. 995794.

Figure i is a 'fragmentary longitudinal section through the mine. Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectionthrough the mine, part being shown in plan. Fig. 8 is a transverse section. Fig. 4i is a detail view, showing the means Jfor arresting the percussion mechanism, and Fig. 5 is a detail section View of the percussion cap.

The mine, which may he or any suitable shape, is adapted to be laid n'itliits longitudinal axis parallel to the flow ot" the Water current and to he adjusted as regards its depthheloiv the Water surface in the manner described in the'speciiication of my aforesaid United States Letters Patent- No.

@957% dated 20th June 191i, and is provided with means externally thereof, adapted to loe Astruck hy any vessel passing over the mine, said means comprising a halanced striking lever e, which is preferably somewhat stirrup-shaped, as illustrated in F ig. 8, the balanced lever et being mounted on a pin 3 rotatable in a stuiing box in the upper side or" the casing of ,the mine, said pin 3 being connected at itslovver end to a lever i'. which s connected by means of a universal joint to a'connecting rod 8 articulated a crank 9 mounted upon a transverse :tirait l0. The 1balanced lever tis vcapable olf oscillating Within the a, o, o, o", indicated by dott-ed lines in Fig. 2, and is provided Wit-h'outwardlv directed points or projections 5 and 6 adapted to Contact with the passing vessel.

The shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in suitable hearings ll carried oy the casing of the cable drum 4Q, and mounted inidwaj' on the shaft l() is a cani 12 of fsliape, this cani l2 being normally adapted to arrest the movement of the percussion mechanism.

rhe percussion mechanism comprises a forked-shaped member 13v embracing the shaft 10 and adapted to engage the cam i2, the member i3 heing carried by a volte il connecting tivo parallel liars i5 carrying at their other ends the arms 23, from which project 4percussion pins 2e. Surrounding the oars 15 are spiral springs 16 hearing at .one end against the arms 23 and at the other ends against the bridge piece 18 of a stirrup 1'?, which also serves to guide the hars i6 during percussion. The stirrup i7 terminates rearwardly in upwardly directed arms i9 connected to cranks 20 mounted on a transverse shaft 2l, which is rotatable in suitable hearings in stutiing hoses in the outer walls of the mine, and is connected at its outer ends to the tWoside-arms of e hoop or stirrup actuating lever 22.

The percussion pins 2e are'norinally in line Withpercussion caps 25 (see particu.- lari)T F ig. 5), which' are mounted on the shell inclosing the explosive material. AEach percussion cap 25 carries a hammer 26 held in position by means of a soft copper pin 27 and prevented from rotation by means of e sleeve 28 mounted on the pin 27 and Whose -ends are guided in grooves in the pen cu'ssion cap. The forward end of the. ham mer 26 is dished out to receive the percussion pin 24 and carries at its rear end a percussion needle 30 adapted to strike the fulininating material. l I

ln the position illustrated on the druivings the percussion mechanism "s cld in position against the action or' the springs l@ and in operative relationship. this being rendered evident hy the fact that the stirrup 22 is in its forward position, thus holding the percussion needles 2l in alinement vf-ith the hammer 2o.* The balanced leve/114 normally occupies the position illustrated in iid full lines in Fig. 2, and on being turned in one direction or the other, the shaft' 10 i's rocked, thus rocking the cam 12 either upwardly or downwardly, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 4, thereupon releasing the forked member 13 and bars 15, which under the action ot the springs 16 causes the percussion pins 2e to eect the ignition of the explosive charge.

In order to manipulate the mine without danger, the ignition mechanism may be thrown out of gear by turning the stirrup Alever 22 trom th lines in Fig. 1 to the position illustrated by the dotted line c in Fig. 1. By this means the shaft 21 and crank arms 20 are rocked through a corresponding angle w, whereupon the arms 19 and stirrup 17 are forced downwardly into the position illustrated by the dotted line al in Fig. 1 so as to be out of alinement with the percussion caps 25, while at the same time the forked-shaped member 13 isidisengaged from the cam 12, thus releasing the spring 16 and forcing the percussion pins 24 into their outermost position. It will thus be seen that a double security is in this manner eiected, the percussion pins 24 being moved out of alinement with the percussion caps 25 on the one hand and being released from the pressure of the springs 16 on the other hand, although it will be readily understood that it is only necessary that one of these operations be carried out in order to render the mine harmless. Means are furthermore provided for preventing oscillation of the balanced lever 4t prior to sinking the mine, said means comprising spring pins 1 and 2 (see Fig. 3) openings in the raised position passing through corresponding balanced lever 4 and held in by means of a suitable soluble substance p. so that on sinking the mine, the substance 7) dissolves and the spring pins 1 and 2 are moved downwardly out'of engagement with the balanced lever 4.

In order to insure the greatestl reliability in operation, the balanced lever 4 is arranged as nearly as possible vertically over th'e cable guide pulley q, thus insuring the movement of the lever 4 and preventing the mine from moving away laterally from beneath the passing vessel, inasmuch as the resistance of the mine to the pressure of the passing vessel is greatest at this point, with the result that the balanced lever 4 is'most easily capable of being turned, when mounted in this position. When the passing vessel approaches ico-re or aft ot' the mine, its longitudinal Vaxis is parallel to or yapproximately parallel to that of the mine, and the explosion can then only take place when the balanced lever l has been turned over the maximum amount, at which moment the explosive charge of the mine will be pressed against the broad side or bottom of the e position illustrated in full Y vessel. If the passing vessel crosses the mine however in any other direction, or in. the most extreme position at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the mine, the latter mayv not and cannot explode, but will be either pressed down below the bottom of the ship, Where movement of the balanced lever 4 will be imparted thereto through the medium of the upper projections 6, or the mine will be forced laterally'from the passing vessel and will then rise when lying alongside of theV ship.

` In order to facilitate the fishing up or raising of the mine, means are provided in combination with the mechanism for throwing the igniting means out of gear, whereby the mine may automatically rise and thus by its appearance on the surface of the water provide reliable evidence of the fact that the throwing out ofgear has been effected, and the mine thus rendered harmless.` For this purpose a cam 31 is fixed upon the trans. verse shaftf21, this cam engaging a doublearmed lever 32 pivoted at 33, whose one end is articulated to a rod 34 connected to a diaphragm 35 and arranged within a hydrostatic chamber s of the type described in m aforesaid prior patent specification. The rod'34 is articulated to a double-armed pivoted lever 36, by means of which the coupling 37 may be thrown into or out of engagement and the gear wheel 38 thus coupled Aor uncoupled to the main driving shaft 39, which is driven by any suitable source of power, the gear wheel 38 rotating the` cable drum 40 through suitable gearing, the arrangement being such that, when the coupling 37 is in engagement, the cable drum 40 will be-prevented from letting out the cable. Orr turning the st-irrup-shaped lever 22 into the position illustrated by the dotted line c in Fig. 1, the cam 31 is rotated and actuates the pivoted lever 32 to move therod 34 and diaphragm 35 inwardly, whereupon the coupling 37 is disengaged and the cable drum 40 lreleased' to enable the ,cable to be paid out and thereby enable the mine to rise -to the surface.

I claim 1. In a floating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, percussion mechanism normally in alinement with said percussion caps, a pivotal axis aboutl which,

exterior of the mine for oscillating said peri cussion mechanism to bring the same out of alinement with said percussion caps. 2. In a floating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, percussion mechas nism normally in alinement with said percussion caps, a spring tending to cause sai percussion mechanism to eiect percussion, arresting means for holding said percussion mechanism against the action of said spring,

a pivotal axis about which saidpercussion mechanism is capable of' oscillating, and means operatable from the exteriorof the mine for oscillating said percussion mechanism to bring the same out of alinement with said percussion caps, and for simultaneously releasing said percussion mechanism from said arresting means.

3. In a oating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, a transverse bar, a forked member embracing said bar, percussion needles carried by said forked member and normally held in alinement with said percussion caps, a frame supporting said needles in position, springs intermediate said frame and needles, a transverse rotatable shaft, crank arms thereon connected to said frame and a lever exterior of the mine and mounted on said shaft for rotating the same to depress said frame.

4. In a floating mine, an explosive' charge, percussion caps thereon, a transverse bar, a cam-shaped forked member embracing said bar, a cam coperatin' with said forked member, percussion nee les carried by said forked member and normally held in alinementwith said percussion caps, a frame supporting said needles in position, springs intermediate said frame and needles, a transverse rotatable shaft, crank arms thereonrconnected to said frame, and a lever exterioi' of the mine mounted on said shaft for rotating the same to depress said frame, and simultaneously Withdraw said forked memher from coperation with said cam.

Y In a iioating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, a transverse bar, a cam-shaped forked member embracing said bar, a cam cooperating With said forked member, percussion needles carried by said forked member, and normally held in alinement With said percussion caps, a frame sup-` porting said needles in position, springs intermediate said frame and needles, a transverse rotatable shaft, crank arms thereon connected to said frame, a lever exterior of the. mine and mounted on said shaft for rotating the same to depress said frame and simultaneously Withdraw said forked member from cooperation With said cam, and means for independently operating said cam from the exterior of the mine to withdraw it from cooperation With Vsaid forked member.

6. In a oating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, percussion mechanism normally in alinement With said per-l With said percussion caps and for simultaneously releasing said percussion. mechanism from said arresting means, a pivoted and balanced lever mounted onwthe mine in a position thereon Where the mine offers the greatest resistance to movement, and a con-l nection from said lever to sai-d arresting means to independently release said vpercussion mechanism from said arresting means.

7. In a floating mine, an explosive charge, percussion caps thereon, percussion mecha nism normally in 'alinement with said percussion caps, a pivoted axis about which said percussion mechanism is capable of "oscillating, means operatable from the exterior of the mine for oscillating said percussion mechanism to bring the same outof aiinement with said percussion caps, an anchor cable, a drum on which said cable is wound and means, simultaneously actuated on oscillating said percussion mechanism, to enable said drum to rotate and pay out cable and permit the mine to rise.

8. Ina floating mine, an explosive charge,

percussion caps thereon, percussion mecha-v nism normally in alinementwith said percussion caps, a pivotal axis about which said percussion mechanism is capable of oscillating, means operatable from the exterior 'of the mine for oscillating said percussion mechanism to bring the same out of alinement With said percussion caps, an anchor cable, a drum on which said cable is Wound, driving means for rotating the drum to take up cable, a coupling intermediate'said driving means and drum, and cam mechanism controlling said coupling and operated on the oscillation of said percussion mechanism to uncouple said. drum from the driving means.

In Wit-ness whereof I have hereunto set. my hand in the presence of tivo Witnesses.

ALEXANDER LERNET. Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR HAUPT, HENRY HASPER. 

